Case Studies
In January 2021, SewerVUE Technology’s inspection crew travelled to the central United States to complete a pair of advanced condition assessment projects for the municipal water and wastewater department of a large city. These projects included both of SewerVUE’s Pipe Penetrating Radar (PPR) and Multi-sensor Inspection (MSI) technologies.[...]
In October 2020, SewerVUE was commissioned by WSP Global Inc. to perform a geometric assessment of a 560m long, 3000 mm diameter combined sewer with a 675 mm sanitary pipe encased inside. The access to the project site was on the on-ramp of Hwy 401, one of the busiest exchanges in Toronto..[...]
In January 2020, SewerVUE Technology mobilized to Southern Minnesota to perform a twin culvert inspection on 42” Reinforced Concrete Pipes, each with a length of 523 feet. On the first day at the jobsite, the temperature upon arrival was a chilly -17° Celsius (1° Fahrenheit) - without the windchill! Despite the cold weather, both inspections were completed on-time and effectively; data was collected from an array of sensors on the SewerVUE Surveyor Robot, including CCTV, LiDAR and the proprietary Pipe Penetrating Radar (PPR).[...]
Clark Regional Wastewater District commissioned a condition assessment on the Salmon Creek and St Johns Trunk reinforced concrete lines. For St. Johns Trunk, a 36-inch line, corrosion due to vapor-phase H2S was suspected and evidence was observed visually by CCTV. The District wanted to quantitatively determine the extent of corrosion and if/when future rehabilitation would be needed. Pipe penetrating radar (PPR) confirmed the upstream-most segment had corroding/missing reinforcement and reduced wall thickness.[...]
Pipe penetrating radar (PPR), a new pipe inspection technology was used for condition assessment in a 27 inch interceptor in Denver, CO. Metro Wastewater Reclamation District (MWRD), the owner of the interceptor had limited information about the condition of the pipe, so they contacted SewerVUE in order to undertake a multisensory pipe condition assessment that included CCTV, PPR and laser profiling. [...]
Although closed circuit television (CCTV) inspection methods are effective and widely available tools for identifying visible defects on the internal wall of pipes, CCTV cannot see behind the pipe’s inner surface, nor can it quantitatively determine the extent of corrosion. PPR technology allows the implementation of proactive preventative maintenance procedures for non-ferrous wastewater and water underground infrastructure. The combined application of PPR, CCTV and LIDAR (light detection and ranging) provides the most complete inspection technology to enable proactive asset management and allow utility owners to plan and schedule the inspection and rehabilitation of critical utilities prior to the occurrence of emergency scenarios. [...]
Gathering detailed, accurate, useful information about pipeline conditions is a complex task. Traditionally, pipe inspection could be done only through CCTV. While CCTV does have its uses, it has many drawbacks compared to more modern technologies. First and foremost, CCTV can only evaluate visually. Visual assessment, while useful, does not help one determine the remaining thickness of the pipe walls, potential voids developing outside the pipe, or rebar cover in RCP, for example. To gain more valuable, quantitative information, SewerVUE supplements CCTV with three other, newer sensors: Sonar, LiDAR, and Pipe Penetrating Radar (PPR). [...]
Is there a way to see through pipeline walls to detect voids before they become sinkholes?
That’s where SewerVUE Technology’s Pipe Penetrating Radar (PPR) comes in. PPR is the underground, in-pipe application of ground penetrating radar. PPR uses high-frequency EM waves to quantify the remaining thickness of pipe walls, and detect voids developing outside the pipe. This allows utility owners to accurately predict needed rehabilitations and make informed decisions on the timing of replacements. [...]